Man
by The Once and Future Prophet
Summary: When your home is being torn apart from the inside...when your heritage is forced upon you...when nobody will stand against the tide of corruption that consumes the weak and defenseless...will you rise? Will you fight? Will you become something...more? (AU - Part 1 of 3)


Planet Vegeta . . .

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The two free-lancers were milling around the fire barrel, trying to alleviate the late year chill pervading the entire city, especially the docks where they had been unlucky enough to get assigned. Saiyans though they were, it didn't mean very much on their own world when they were just fodder in Frieza's underworld empire, to be used as cheap muscle wherever the arcosian saw fit.

Further into the jungle of triple stacked cero-ceramic shipping containers, other peons of the Galactic Underworld Empire were doing their best to carry out their own jobs of unloading crates while staving off numb extremities. Nobody knew why it was that they had been called in for this unexpected shipment, nor what the shipment even was for that matter. But with Frieza personally on site to oversee the procedure, nobody wanted to even imagine what was so important that the frost demon saw fit to invest serious interest in it.

So, they remained silent, keeping their complaints to themselves and managing to avoid randomly exploding by doing so. But for a guy that could reputedly destroy an entire planet, it seemed like an extremely petty venture to come down to these backwater drop-off points instead of sending one of his lieutenants in his place.

"Y'know," one of the saiyans spoke up, a squat man with a fringe of black hair encircling a prominent bald spot, "I heard tell from those spooks at the Sanitarium that some of these crates are makin' their way over there, and that Zarbon creep is keepin' it all quiet from the VGF. Know anything 'bout that?"

His companion, a slightly taller saiyan with a stylized fauxhawk, shook his head in answer, swishing his tail about in uncomfortable agitation. He didn't like gossiping on the best of days, but now he was cold, nervous, and what's more he had an unusual feeling that something…bad was going to happen at any second now. He couldn't place this sudden sense of foreboding or unease…

Silence regained its prominence, settling between them like a bog. Shivering and shuffling, they passively performed their jobs – keeping watch and assuring that nobody came snooping around their little section.

Above, where the eye rarely traveled, a slip of darkness slid closer to the edge of the container wall, looming above the two saiyans as an omen, hair almost completely indistinguishable from the night save for the faintest glimmer of gold. Satisfied in its findings, the shadow withdrew as the clouds briefly swept across the closest moon, bathing all in black.

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Frieza, prince of the Arcosian throne and untouchable head of a vast intergalactic network dealing in the darker side of all transactions, was smirking confidently as he sipped regally from his delicate glass of blood red wine. Watching from the observation dome of his capital ship, parked at the edge of the docks, he oversaw the unloading of container number five, second from last, and the careful separation of the covertly marked boxes into two separate hover traulers, ready to take them to their pre-designated drop off points on the planet.

Even from here, he could see the terrified looks that were being slipped his way, when the foolish thugs thought that they might get away with it. His very presence was enough to instill the type of fear that these base animals had learned to heed in their hovels generations ago. He had even decided to intensify that dread by making an appearance in his second form, the increased height and musculature giving him an even greater sense of superiority.

A cough from behind, reminding him that he held an audience. His smirk shrank minutely at the displeasure, but he nonetheless looked back over his shoulder at the waiting giant. Impressively enough, Recoome stood even taller and bulkier than Frieza in his current form, exactly half the reason that he was the Frost Demon's go-to man in the VGF; the other half being that he never asked too many questions that would render him a liability.

Frieza had asked him to attend tonight's little gathering for want of that last scrap of immunity that wasn't already applied to him. Powerful enough to destroy a solar system he may be, but he much rather preferred to insulate himself by political means, such as owning every sentencer that mattered and two members of the Saiyan Council. Legality bent around him like wind, and he took great delight in basking in that knowledge – almost as much as he did when psychologically tormenting that foppish Prince.

"So, the vegetables go to the dealers and the fruits go the that guy in the Grey?" Recoome's sluggish voice was as testing as ever, and the simple question was characteristically dense, but Frieza saw no harm in telling his stooge at least a morsel of the truth.

"It's imperative that the division be made; the one time that several were mixed and went to the wrong targets, the customers were raving and forced to be admitted into indefinite hold at the Sanitarium. I do not care to lose profits in such a way ever again."

He let the ogre of a man mull over that tidbit, watching with interest as the red head made a scrunched face as he worked that liquor sodden brain of his.

"So, uh, what's the diffrence 'tween them?" A good question, admittedly, but also one that could lead into dangerous waters.

"My advice would be to avoid burdening yourself with the secrets of-" Frieza turned just a little more to give the bent Guardsman a smile with as much malicious charm as he could be bothered to summon, "scary people."

Recoome blanched and shook his head in quick acceptance, unconsciously running a finger along the shiny bank chit he clutched in a sweaty paw, physical proof that he was important enough to be paid, thus not in immediate threat of exploding.

Any further conversation that might be had was put on hold when a dull crash reverberated from across the darkened shipping lot. It was in all likelihood a container that had been improperly stacked, and not worth the effort or time to think about at length; but then an identical crash came from practically the opposite end of the yard, and then another from much closer.

Scowling, Frieza rolled the stem of his glass between his ivory fingers, taking care not to shatter the fragile chalice. One container was misfortune, two was suspicious and three was-

A thin beam of purple energy shot into the sky at a diagonal angle, briefly lighting the general area with a muted glow, but it almost instantly subsided.

"I'll check it out," Recoome declared, slipping his scouter back on and striding heavily from out of the room.

Frieza remained silent as he took another sip, no longer smirking. He didn't like distractions, least of all the ones that might cost him money.

Heads were going to roll.

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Jubidard Leeke, the saiyan with a fauxhawk, sprinted through the maze of containers, completely lost and nearly hyperventilating. Eyes tearing up thanks to the cold air, he swiped at them with the back of his arm without stopping or even slowing, terror coursing through his veins as thick as blood.

He knew that if he halted for even a moment, then whatever fate that had befallen Ebean would undoubtedly fall on his head as well.

"No," he panted, only half aware of the word. If he had been of a right mind, he would be cursing himself for acting without a shred of saiyan tenacity.

But all thoughts of personal image had fled him the moment that…that **T** **hing** had dropped down from nowhere. His scouter hadn't even beeped once, not even when the spectral being had stood right in front of him, the front of Ebean's armor clenched in one hand.

It didn't matter, not right then. The only thing he could think of was that he _needed_ to escape, to hide from that nightmare of black skin and head of flames. He rounded another corner, still in a dead sprint, and-

-a flash of gold-

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Recoome shouted at the already nervous and on edge goons closest to Frieza's ship, ordering them to investigate the disturbance. They scattered like leaves to seep into the maze of containers, weapons held at the ready or else balls of ki hovering patiently above outstretched hands. They numbered around two dozen and had enough firepower between them to level this entire dock into molten slag; they were all shaking in trepidation as they crept forward on reluctant legs.

The saiyans of the group tried to project airs of confidence and strength, unwilling even now to show their anxiety to their alien compatriots or even to each other. Everyone else just looked around nervously, scouters beeping steadily as they tried to identify any anomalous readings. So far, neither were having much luck.

Nobody even noticed when one of their allies was yanked into the shadows, as if by a rope tied around his middle.

They did, however, take note of a bright, opalescent orb as it shot straight up into the cloudy night sky. An initial volley was fired, but all shots missed due to the speed of the orb and the hastiness of the thugs. The orb didn't explode as a traditional attack like it would have; instead, it seemed to implode on itself and leave a dazzling half star in its stead, shooting out rays of near blinding light.

All of the aliens averted their eyes, trying to blink away the miniature flashes that had suddenly obscured their vision. But, for the saiyans…

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Frieza was getting quite impatient for results by the time the white sphere was launched into the sky. Standing at the foot of the landing ramp for his ship, he puzzled over the strange occurrence for several seconds before a series of roars disturbed his ruminations.

The ground began to rumble and shake, and the upraised cries of alarm and fear from the non-saiyan cronies were audible even from here. It didn't take very long for the arcosian prince to figure out just what had happened, coinciding with the moment that at least eight Oozarus sprouted up into his line of sight and began to rampage about in their direct vicinity. The rending shrieks of cero-ceramic, followed by the _shoom-shoom_ of ki blasts filled the night as the mindless beasts terrorized their previous allies.

Frieza growled low in his throat, letting more of his power seep to the fore and create a threatening sheen of black and red energy that danced across his immaculate skin like vapor from dry ice. He held no fear of the mindless Apes, but even he could appreciate the raw destructive force that they could unleash if not properly contained, and they were near impossible to miss on the horizon, even when not spewing ki blasts from their mouths and banging their chests. He needed to put a stop to this now before the main force of the VGF arrived and put the operations on hold. 

But even as he took flight, one of the colossal beasts roared – not in anger, but in pain. Indeed, it clutched at its face as though something had struck it hard in the forehead, something the arcosian didn't believe any of the cronies present were capable of causing, save perhaps Recoome, but the dim giant would have left as soon as the saiyans had transformed, smart enough to know that the situation had turned too volatile to ensure safety.

The stunned Oozaru then doubled over, hit in the stomach with enough force to bruise, but Frieza hadn't seen anything make a move. In rapid succession, the other six or seven monstrous primates were all struck down as soundly as the first, overpowered by the unseen aggressor and knocked senseless.

Frieza doubled his pace and zipped into the air above the scene of whatever fight had happened. The aliens among his men had all been quickly neutralized by the Great Apes, stomped underfoot and pounded into the ground, though all seemed to be alive. The saiyans were slowly regressing to their normal forms, unable to remain transformed while unconscious, most of them naked as their clothes hadn't been the terrifically elastic variety worn during the full moon (which wasn't for another four months yet!)

And of the one to cause all this, there wasn't a trace. Not even a receding power signal on his hastily donned scouter indicated that anyone had been there at all. Unexpectedly, the prince of Arcos felt an unease, something he felt so rarely that he had to remember what name of it was. Something was here. Something had incapacitated all of his men in seconds. Something...was stalking him.

He knew he couldn't just blow up the entire docks – besides needlessly destroying a place of business, he didn't want the law breathing down his neck. He turned in the air and shot back to his ship, leaving the insensate thugs to their own incarcerations. Even now, he could hear the faint wailing that signaled the approach of a VGF cruiser, and where there was one, there were bound to be more.

Flying through the circular corridor of his ship straight to the door of the bridge, he stormed under the automatic doorway and right up to the pilot's seat. "Start this ship immediately and get us-"

He stopped when he saw that he was talking to nobody. The pilot, and all three members of the bridge staff, were expressly forbidden from abandoning their posts under very real threat of death. Clicking the main button on his scouter, he panned around, alarmed to discover that there wasn't _anybody_ on the ship.

Right as he decided on escaping over the water by himself, a tremendous popping noise drew his attention out the large window that could act as a view screen: the pulsating white 'star' that had been hovering innocently in the air had exploded, creating a dazzling corona of light that was almost too intense to look directly at. And from the middle of the impromptu fireworks display, something small and solid shot out, straight towards his ship, straight towards him!

Reacting instinctively, Frieza threw his hand up and fired a wide-diameter energy blast to intercept the incoming object. The pale purple beam ripped through the hull of his ship like it was made of loose packed snow and screeched into the night air.

But the object and the explosion of light abruptly vanished as it did, gone like they had never been there to begin with.

Frieza had just enough time to realize ' _The viewscreen was set for the aft cameras_ ' before two hands grabbed his head by the horns and heaved him backward in half circle that ended with his face planted into the frigid metal of the floor. He lashed out, trying to catch the attacker across the face with his arm, but the limb was stopped dead in its tracks, gripped in a punishingly tight grip that implied a complete lack of impress with his power.

With no time for thought, the arcosian threw his other hand up to fire another ki blast, but it was smacked aside with an almost derisive air. A pressure on his shoulder and he was suddenly thrown out the hole he had ventilated his ship with, spinning end over end like a sick childrens toy. Again, before he could react, he was intercepted by a blow that nearly knocked him out right there, sending him back at the ground with the force of a meteorite. Crashing with a shockwave sufficient to blow back the cero-ceramic in his immediate vicinity, he lay in the shallow crater, mind desperately trying to play catch up with what had just happened.

He wasn't given the opportunity the gather his wits. Something landed on his chest and forced the air from his primary lungs in a feeble wheeze of pain. A hand reached out and pulled him forward by the collar of his ornate armor, bringing him face to face with the living nightmare that had defeated him in five moves.

A non-face, featureless black expanse of nothing that radiated menace and anger - two points of brilliant green that were shocking in their contrast and the pure disdain they were appraising him with - peaks of solid gold, shooting forwards, back and up, brilliant with their pure illumination that still left the rest of the entirety in ravenous shadow.

"-what ARE you?!" Frieza rasped, unthinking of the bald fear in the voice that had commanded millions.

A voice from Hell answered him.

" _The Super Saiyan of Legend_."

And then he knew no more.

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Goku jogged up to the cordoned off entrance to the East side docks, a favorite haunt for smugglers, pirates and other assorted scum of the galaxy. The VGF officers stationed there nodded respectfully to him as he passed, murmuring "Agent Kakarot" in greeting. He nodded back hurriedly, ducking under the semi-solid ki barricade line and continuing over to the group of officers standing by several saiyans and aliens, hands and ankles bound by standard issue energy suppressant cuffs, a few of them with blankets thrown over them to cover their nudity.

An officer broke away from the rest and approached him, Golu recognizing him as the recent transfer, Brote, not yet corrupted by the malignant draw of bribery and favors. "Frieza's men," he said with a jerk of his head back at the detained goons.

"Yeah, as if it matters; we'll never be able to prove that he was at all connected to this."

A flash of something in the rookie's face, wonderment perhaps, and he jerked his head again. "You might want to come see this."

Goku let him lead the way through the mess of interplanetary shipping containers, taking note of the examiners that were taking inventory of them as they passed. They came out into a wide open area, much better lit than elsewhere despite the floodlights. A large crater was dented into the ground, like a magnification of where a cannonball had cracked cement, and at the edge of it, tilted awkwardly as one of the landing struts was now unsupported, a shredded arcosian capitol ship lay neglected.

And above them...

An orb of golden energy hung suspended, exuding no apparent heat but loads of light. And inside the orb was none other that Prince Frieza, still in his much vaunted second form and displaying wicked bruises on his stomach and cheek. His arms and legs were splayed out and anchored to the orb by manacles made of more of the same energy, creating a short term prison cell for the unconscious crime lord.

"Well I'll be," Goku breathed, a slight grin tugging at his lips.

"And, uh, there's also that, sir," Brote spoke up, getting his attention and directing it at the ground to the left of the ship and clear of the demolished masonry. By some trick of placement, more light was shining from behind Frieza than in front of him, allowing for them to clearly see him and for his shadow to be cast at an angle. Though hazy and somewhat vague, the arcosian's body had been used to create a shadow that resembled the letter 'Y' intersected by a 'V '- the mythical emblem for the equally mythical Super Saiyans.

"Well," Goku whispered to himself, "I guess he wasn't kidding about starting things with a bang."

Something was changing in the air, and Planet Vegeta would find itself at the middle of the storm that was to come...

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 _A look forward to tease at what comes before. Consider this an appetizer for things yet to come, and a journey from Man, to a Symbol...to Legend._


End file.
